And as court was adjourned, I rushed into his arms.
“Mason,” was my breathless explanation. “You’re free.”
But it was like running into a brick wall.
For whatever reason, he was curiously stiff before pushing me away, expression hard.
What?
I tilted my head at him, furrowing my brow in confusion.
Had I done something wrong?
Was I not supposed to embrace my husband after such an amazing turn of events?
Was this a PR thing?
“I’ll give you two some time alone,” his attorney mumbled, clearing his throat in an awkward gesture before disappearing, refusing to look me in the eye.
Why did I feel like a leper? This was a day to celebrate, to rejoice that the ills of the past were finally over. So I ignored him, even as my spidey sense tingled.
“Isn’t this amazing?” was my happy burble, face wreathed in smiles. “We can be together now. You’re a free man.”
I was about to babble more, but Mason’s expression stopped me. He stared, eyes an icy blue. Harsh and unyielding, cold as daggers.
“I want a divorce,” came that masculine rasp.
The words came as such a shock that it felt like I had taken a physical blow to the chest.
What?
No.
I must have heard him wrong.
Divorce?
I’d just been picturing a life together at last.
“What? Why?” I stammered, heart seizing in my chest. “Are you joking?”
This had to be a joke. It had to be. Mason loved me. Right?
Why would he want a divorce?
It didn’t make any sense.
My head pounded trying to fathom what he could possibly mean.
Please, let this be some kind of a horrible nightmare.
But Mason kept staring at me, eyes growing colder by the second.
“You know,” he growled menacingly. “You know.”
And without another word, the man was gone, that massive form disappearing in long strides.
I was left standing in an empty courtroom, brokenhearted and confused.
What just happened? This was supposed to be the happiest day of my life. Second happiest, after my wedding. Because with Mason free, we were supposed to embark on a new life, together in lock-step, like real spouses.
But instead, the moment the billionaire was free, he was leaving me. Divorce. What in the world? Couldn’t be.
My mind rushed and I leaned over, suddenly unable to breathe.
Because maybe I’d been stupid. Maybe I’d been naïve, the dumb girl taken in by the alpha male. Had our marriage been a marriage of convenience, and nothing else? A way for the alpha to get pussy when no one else was available?
And suddenly, the ground rushed up at me, everything going dark. Because the truth is hard to bear, and my husband had been no husband at all. I’d been a silly girl … and in the end, played like a fool.
CHAPTER TWELVE
Mason
Bitterness filled my mouth as I strode off.
Fuck it. Fuck it all to hell.
This was supposed to be one of the best days of my life and instead, it was the worst.
Satan might as well fuck me in the ass if he was going to keep throwing shit like this my way. I couldn’t stand it. One goddamn thing after another. I just couldn’t catch a break.
I ran my fingers through my hair. A part of me still couldn’t believe it.
Laney would never do that to me. She loved me. She was a devoted and faithful wife.
Or so I thought.
Goddamn.
Just when I thought I had found the one, she had to go and stab me in the back.
That’s always what happens in the end.
I wouldn’t have believed it if it wasn’t for those photographs. If I had to be honest, I had my doubts from the start. A beautiful girl like her had to have someone on the outside. And, lo and behold, I was right.
Why was I always right? Goddammit.
“Are you ready to go?”
My attorney approached hesitantly, an apologetic look on his pinched face. Because this was supposed to be about my appeal. Clearing the record after justice has been obscured, gone wrong in the worst of ways.
And yet I didn’t even care about that anymore, criminal record be damned. All I cared about was my woman.
At least, I’d thought Laney was my woman.
My fists tightened by my side. A part of me wanted to slam the lawyer’s head into the ground for pitying me. I was Mason Evercore, billionaire alpha, and you don’t ever pity me.
But fuck that. It was the emotions making me loopy. I was being irrational, the surges of feeling barreling through my chest like a tsunami.
So I clamped down. I don’t let women do this to me. I didn’t need Laney anyway. She was a good fuck, but that was all. Nothing more.
Inside the car, I closed my eyes, but as soon as I did, the pictures came back to haunt me. Because I was delusional. Who was I kidding? I’d fallen in love, and the photos cut me to the heart, like a stiletto in my ribs. How could she? Knowing that I was locked up, Laney had betrayed me in the worst of ways.